Thursday, June 15, 2017

IDENTIFY THE ENEMY

In Genesis 3:1, we read: “Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast in the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, ‘Has God indeed said, You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?’”


“Stop, Timmy. Don’t move.” Grandfather crept up to the pile of pine straw against an old log on the path, inspected the snake coiled there. Red, black, and yellow bands. He looked closer, sighed with relief.

“You can move, son. It's a Scarlet King snake, not a Coral snake. It’s not poisonous.”

“How can you tell one from the other?” He cast a worried look Grandfather’s way.

“An old poem helps. ‘Red on yellow can kill a fellow, red on black is safe for Jack.”

“Grandfather, what if I can’t remember the poem? I-I froze. I stared at the snake and he stared at me.”

Grandfather chuckled. “One thing for sure. You need to be able to identify the enemy. Three snakes in our area are banded with similar colors--the Scarlet King snake, the Scarlet snake and the Coral snake. Only the Coral snake is poisonous.”

“It. It really scared me.” Timmy hiccuped.

“Good. We need to fear the enemy. His bite is deadly. But, not if you receive anti-venom.” Timmy’s forehead furrowed. “It is made from the venom of the snake. Antibodies develop. If a venomous snake bites us, the anti-venom neutralizes the poison.”

“The venom doesn’t kill us?” Grandfather shook his head.

“Not if we take the anti-venom.” Grandfather tilted his head. “The Lord Jesus took the bite of death for us, Timmy. He chose to have the anti-venom created in His body by dying on the cross so when we come to Him with the bite of death, His blood gives us life.”

Kingdom Thinking. I stand amazed the Lord Jesus took the bite of death for me. So by Him, the anti-venom is available to anyone who receives it. He loves me with an everlasting love. He promises never to leave me nor forsake me. He offers the same to you. Won’t you come and receive Him?